You've been diagnosed with IBS.
You've tried changing your diet, reducing stress, perhaps you've tried various drugs. But you continue to suffer with bloating, pain or unpredictable bathroom trips. 

Educational content reviewed by licensed APRN medical staff. Not personal medical advice.

It's ruining your life.
In the video, Dr Vikki Petersen explains 5 clear causes of IBS that when addressed, allow healing to occur.

The truth is: IBS isn't a real diagnosis; it's a description of symptoms. What's missing is the root causes hiding underneath your symptoms.

Many people just continue to put up with the symptoms or try medications which, by research, have satisfaction rating of only 10%. There's much more that can be done.

So what's really going on? 
The 5 Reasons You're Really Suffering:
1. SIBO and gut dysbiosis - bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine leads to gas, bloat, pain and motility issues. Bacterial overgrowth, known as dysbiosis, in your colon creates the same symptoms.
The causes are hiatal hernia, use of PPI drugs, antibiotics, food sensitivities, and vagus nerve dysfunction, which slows motility.

2. Inflammatory changes post-infection - things like food poisoning or traveler's diarrhea begins a cascade of damage to the intestinal lining that triggers inflammation, increases intestinal permeability (leaky gut) sensitizes the gut's nervous system, and slows or speeds up motility. The bacterial toxins and leaky gut causes toxins to leak into the bloodstream and that triggers an immune response.

3. Food sensitivities - certain foods are triggers while other foods are a consequence of a disrupted gut. e.g. gluten and diary are common causes. FODMAPs and histamine foods are reactionary more due to a consequence rather than a root cause. It can result in people eating very few foods which is not desirable or ultimately necessary when the root causes are treated.

4. Hidden inflammation or microbiome imbalance - with chronic food sensitivities, stress, or bacterial dysbiosis the immune system stays on alert - it releases cytokines that irritate the gut's nerves and muscles. Studies show this directly relates to the classic pain - bloat - motility loop.
This degree on inflammation doesn't show up on standard blood tests - one needs to test specifically for it.

5. Vagus nerve dysfunction and Gut/Brain axis - the vagus nerve controls motility, poor digestion and serotonin levels. The vagus is the connection between gut and brain. 
When you're told IBS is due to stress it doesn't really help. Stress from where? You have to work on the gut and vagus both. 90% of serotonin (the happy hormone) is produced in the gut. You need a healthy microbiome to produce serotonin, which you don't have if you suffer with IBS. The cause of mood swings, anxiety, depression and brain fog is explained due to insufficient serotonin.

Testing:
microbiome, SIBO, hormones, food sensitivities, cytokines and toxins such as mold or heavy metals. Once imbalances are found, treatment is natural.

Annual blood tests and colonoscopies won't find these root causes.

References:
Barbara G. et al., Gastroenterology 2004. Mast cell–nerve interactions in human irritable bowel syndrome.
Ohman & Simrén, Gut 2010. Pathogenesis of IBS: Role of inflammation, immunity and neuroimmune interactions.
Dinan & Cryan, Gastroenterology Clinics 2011. The microbiome-gut-brain axis in health and disease.
Simrén et al., Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology 2013. Intestinal microbiota in functional bowel disorders: A Rome foundation report.
Tap et al., Gastroenterology 2017. Identification of an intestinal microbiota signature associated with severity of irritable bowel syndrome.

#ibs #guthealth #rootcausemedicine 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this video is intended for educational pu